Not quite. The save bonus is morale. Attack and damage bonus is competence.

PRD wrote:

Inspire Courage (Su): A 1st-level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard's performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 5th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire courage can use audible or visual components. The bard must choose which component to use when starting his performance.

My understanding is that by RAW this is essentially a cantrip that gives the magus flurry for that turn (an extra attack at full BAB but all attacks are at -2). It's not always the best move and often there are better things to cast... but for a cantrip this has utility at all levels of play. It's good stuff.

Frankly I am a bit surprised at the rating of (0) Daze as well. You are entirely correct that it is not useful after a few levels but for 1st level and into 2nd, you are dominating any single foe encounters. If I told you your wizard had a spell that had concentration but made the BBEG lose half his turns of actions for a cantrip, I think you would be pretty darn happy using it. I can't see this as anything short of fantastic at really low levels where people have a hard time seeing the casters as useful. Save the 1st level sleep or other bomb for an encounter with more foes and shut down a single opponent with this one.

Also a scroll or wand of Daze? Really? It is a 0 level spell. It only costs actions, wasting money on it to boot makes no sense. They would still use actions so nothing is gained and money is lost.

On the other hand, I would actually downgrade (0) Flare. Yes it is a debuff but it has the cost of an action as well. Typically this is only getting through at low levels and you don't really start looking to stack debuffs until mid or later when this is less likely to land. Finally it costs an action for something that isn't really useful until a time when you likely have much better "bang for your buck" actions to do be doing every round. Yes, it is a 'free' spell in that it doesn't take up spells per day uses, but action economy is a big deal and this one fails that test.

On (0) Ghost Sound, I am torn. Typically I love illusiory effects and a creative player can come up with TONS of them for this spell. The issue I have is that 95% of those uses will be trying to be sneaky. The problem is that the spell has verbal components so even if you are well hidden, they hear someone casting a spell the, "hey, I heard something right over there right after I heard someone chanting. Could they be related?" It just doesn't seem to work well for it's intended purpose with that Verbal component in place. I am curious on other peoples experiences though.

(0) Haunted Fey Aspect. I think you rated this one correctly but your commentary makes it sound like it might be useful for a level or two. Unfortunately it has a rds/lvl duration, so you are spending most of your actions just to get DR 1. It is a trap and isn't worth casting. I suppose if you are high level and have a round you are doing nothing while someone else is casting another buff spell before you crash into a room it is worth casting as it would last the combat, but it's benefit is so minimal as to almost be not worth mentioning. It's a trap.

(0) Lullaby. Again, another sneaky spell with a Verbal component. In this case you are letting the guard get a DC (rng/10) perception check (10 if you are 100 ft away in normal conditions) against noticing you are there, then if he fails he gets a will save to maybe having a harder time noticing your are there. It just doesn't work well to announce you are there to be sneaky.

(0) Mending. I have a hard time saying enough good things about this spell. Initially I loved it for the out of combat flavor it gave my wizard. The guy could walk into town and start magically fixing things... who wouldn't love him for that? But the real gold is just how good sundering things as a combat option when this spell exists. Yeah, the classes that get this aren't great at sundering typically, but they often hang out with people that are. In a game where you fight a lot of people who wield weapons against you, breaking them so they can't be used against you is a great tactic when you can then fix them and sell them just like normal. Of course, that goes both ways, so needing this around when your GM sunders your parties stuff is a good idea too.

(0) Message - I agree that this has some good uses, but I think you are over rating it slightly. Again, it is a spell that can have some great sneaky uses but is hamstrung by that darned Verbal component. That said, there are lots of other uses to. Still, based on your ratings of comparable spells which it is competing with for the spell slot, I don't think I could rate this above Average. If you only had one spell slot left would you take this or Read Magic?

(0) Prestidigitation - I find it interesting your rate Ghost Sound up because of all the creative non-combat things that can be done with it, but this spell gets the average treatment for the same benefit. For my vote, this is the best 0 level spell in game. It will make you feel like you are actually playing a magical character. I can see why you chose average but it is inconsistent with other creative use only spells.

Anyway... Really good work, keep it up. I appreciate all you're putting into this so please don't take the above as criticism to that end.

I think you rated Timely Inspiration too high. Immidiate action is good, but the bonus is very minor. And the biggest flaw is the bonus type: competence. The same bonus type granted by inspire courage and inspire competence. If you are in a combat and need a to hit bonus so badly that you think about using a spell for such a minor one-time bonus, cahnces are you use Inspire Courage anyway.

You should at least mention that. Also, the same applies to Gallant Inspiration.

I had missed the competence connection between the bard ability Inspire Courage and the spell. That does change things, and I will make adjustments.

My understanding is that by RAW this is essentially a cantrip that gives the magus flurry for that turn (an extra attack at full BAB but all attacks are at -2). It's not always the best move and often there are better things to cast... but for a cantrip this has utility at all levels of play. It's good stuff.

I am completely lost as to what you are talking about. Arcane Mark lets you leave a rune or symbol on something. Where does the flurry come in?

Sean Mahoney wrote:

Frankly I am a bit surprised at the rating of (0) Daze as well. You are entirely correct that it is not useful after a few levels but for 1st level and into 2nd, you are dominating any single foe encounters. If I told you your wizard had a spell that had concentration but made the BBEG lose half his turns of actions for a cantrip, I think you would be pretty darn happy using it. I can't see this as anything short of fantastic at really low levels where people have a hard time seeing the casters as useful. Save the 1st level sleep or other bomb for an encounter with more foes and shut down a single opponent with this one.

Also a scroll or wand of Daze? Really? It is a 0 level spell. It only costs actions, wasting money on it to boot makes no sense. They would still use actions so nothing is gained and money is lost.

You weren't the only one to bring those points up about daze, and I guess I had forgotten to make the changes. I upped the rating up to average and removed the bit about the scroll and wand.

Sean Mahoney wrote:

On the other hand, I would actually downgrade (0) Flare. Yes it is a debuff but it has the cost of an action as well. Typically this is only getting through at low levels and you don't really start looking to stack debuffs until mid or later when this is less likely to land. Finally it costs an action for something that isn't really useful until a time when you likely have much better "bang for your buck" actions to do be doing every round. Yes, it is a 'free' spell in that it doesn't take up spells per day uses, but action economy is a big deal and this one fails that test.

I can see where you are coming from and I added a -. I don't think it is really bad enough for a bad rating, but I also don't think people are really going to use it anyway.

Sean Mahoney wrote:

On (0) Ghost Sound, I am torn. Typically I love illusiory effects and a creative player can come up with TONS of them for this spell. The issue I have is that 95% of those uses will be trying to be sneaky. The problem is that the spell has verbal components so even if you are well hidden, they hear someone casting a spell the, "hey, I heard something right over there right after I heard someone chanting. Could they be related?" It just doesn't seem to work well for it's intended purpose with that Verbal component in place. I am curious on other peoples experiences though.

The verbal component has been discussed and debated a great deal on these messageboards, and the general consensus seems to end up being that the verbal component doesn't have to be loud, just confident and strong. Of course, this has all been pretty mute in my games as verbal components have pretty much been ignored in all the games I have played/ran. Worrying about such things is just one more thing to try and remember.

Sean Mahoney wrote:

(0) Lullaby. Again, another sneaky spell with a Verbal component. In this case you are letting the guard get a DC (rng/10) perception check (10 if you are 100 ft away in normal conditions) against noticing you are there, then if he fails he gets a will save to maybe having a harder time noticing your are there. It just doesn't work well to announce you are there to be sneaky.

Do the guards have ranks in Knowledge: Arcana to realize what they heard was lullaby being cast on them? I am not trying to sound confrontational here, I just want to point out that there are plenty of small and little things that just don't see use in games because they slow things down. I only make verbal components important when a spellcaster suddenly can't speak, as it could slow down my games if I worry about them for anything else.

Sean Mahoney wrote:

(0) Message - I agree that this has some good uses, but I think you are over rating it slightly. Again, it is a spell that can have some great sneaky uses but is hamstrung by that darned Verbal component. That said, there are lots of other uses to. Still, based on your ratings of comparable spells which it is competing with for the spell slot, I don't think I could rate this above Average. If you only had one spell slot left would you take this or Read Magic?

(0) Prestidigitation - I find it interesting your rate Ghost Sound up because of all the creative non-combat things that can be done with it, but this spell gets the average treatment for the same benefit. For my vote, this is the best 0 level spell in game. It will make you feel like you are actually playing a magical character. I can see why you chose average but it is inconsistent with other creative use only spells.

To answer your question about message or read magic, it really depends on a few factors, like what my spellcraft modifier is like and if my party likes to split up or not. I still might take read magic, but message is a great way to keep communication going with the party, even if they are in the same room and find they can't say something they need to without being overheard. I view the verbal component as the message sent, and of course there are my feelings on the matter stated above.

Prestidigitation was upped mostly because of some really creative uses I saw in a game a couple weeks ago. Also, the ratings do take into account how often I feel the spell will be used, and this spell just sees so much consistent use.

Thanks for your comments! They are really helpful and they did push me to make some changes. Keep them coming, I am interested to see what your thoughts are on 1st and 2nd level spells.

Brand: For a hexcrafter magus it's a good spell because it allows an additionlas attack via spellstrike. The fact that it deals 1 point of damage is nearly irrelevant.
To remember: the hexcrafter has all [curse] spells on his spell list.

Ray of frost: As it's a ray a lot of damage and to hit bonuses apply making it a good backup weapon.
With the right build it even becomes a save or be slowed on top.
In another thread I showed how a level 1 Sorcerer can deal 1d3+7 damage with a ray of frost. Or 1d3+6 with the slow effect.

Level 1:

Snapdragon fireworks: While it surely isn't an excellent spell it clearly has it's uses. As it targets a square not a creature it's good to attack swarms without doing too much collateral damage. I'd give it bad+ or avarage-

Brand: For a hexcrafter magus it's a good spell because it allows an additionlas attack via spellstrike. The fact that it deals 1 point of damage is nearly irrelevant.
To remember: the hexcrafter has all [curse] spells on his spell list.

Ray of frost: As it's a ray a lot of damage and to hit bonuses apply making it a good backup weapon.
With the right build it even becomes a save or be slowed on top.
In another thread I showed how a level 1 Sorcerer can deal 1d3+7 damage with a ray of frost. Or 1d3+6 with the slow effect.

Level 1:

Snapdragon fireworks: While it surely isn't an excellent spell it clearly has it's uses. As it targets a square not a creature it's good to attack swarms without doing too much collateral damage. I'd give it bad+ or avarage-

I was not aware of that use of brand. I will look into that further and change the guide and rating appropriately. Thanks!

With ray of frost, I wasn't aware that there was a specific build that could do what you mentioned. I wouldn't mind adding a note to that spell's guide, but I am not sure I would raise the rating by much. While the rating for that one specific build would be good, the rating I listed is for general builds. Outside of that one build you mentioned, you would be better off taking acid splash over ray of frost. Would you mind giving me the specifics of that build so I could make a proper note of it on my guide?

I had forgotten about swarms with snapdragon fireworks. Thank you, I will mention them. And that is enough for me to raise the rating slightly.

1. I'd color the Spell titles based on your rating colors, rather than have them all be black. You want to see if it is good right up front without having to scroll down through text to find the answer at the end. If some of them are several colors then I'd color the title in a few colors. Like SCORChing ray, where the caps would be green and the lower case would be yellow. But DO NOT do ScOrChInG rAy as nobody but grannies think that looks good. Put the worst rating color(s) at the front and end with the better one(s). Then get rid of the rating slot at the end.

2. I'd love to see the spell lists for each class at the very top (also colored), sort of like an index. I would find this compendium most useful when I was leveling a spell casting class (duh). When I do that I don't want to see every single spell in the book, I want to see a list of what my class can learn. Going to the sorcerer/wizard 2nd lvl section and seeing a colored list of names/links would be most useful. That way I could open the links for the blues and green and ignore the rest.

3. I would suggest not having quite so many colors. You don't need three shades of every color as it just gets confusing for the reader and is a LOT more work for you. Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple is plenty IMHO.

4. I'd add a category under each spell called "Good for scroll/wand" and answer with a simple yes/no. There are lots of spells that make excellent scrolls/wands because they have duration of minutes(hours)/lvl rather than rounds/lvl, or for higher lvl spells still have a good duration at minimum caster level. If you really wanted to go nuts you could color this slot as well. Red is bad, Green is good, blue is Must have. When reading through huge lists with lost of text, colors is a fast way to help users sort important data. Sometimes I just want to quickly see what would be a good wand investment.

With ray of frost, I wasn't aware that there was a specific build that could do what you mentioned. I wouldn't mind adding a note to that spell's guide, but I am not sure I would raise the rating by much. While the rating for that one specific build would be good, the rating I listed is for general builds. Outside of that one build you mentioned, you would be better off taking acid splash over ray of frost. Would you mind giving me the specifics of that build so I could make a proper note of it on my guide?

As acid splash is not a ray some bonuses would not work with it.

Rays have the special that they count as weapons and thus bonuses to weapon damage apply to them.

The build is in this thread: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz5l8x?What-bonuses-can-you-stack-on-damage-cantr ips

In short is is
+1 for a alchemical power component
+3 for his two bloodlines (crossblooded orc and brutal)
+1 for a trait (havoc of the society or mindlessly cruel)
+1 point blank shot feat
+1 flagbearer feat

You have actually touched on a few points that I am considering for the guide. Unfortunately, most changes are going to have to wait until I can rate every spell. I started this project on January 1st, and I am 3 1/2 months in and only half way through 2nd level spells.

Until I can finish just rating the spells, I will have to wait to implement spell lists, lists of what spells work great with what magic items, and making any changes the format I already have in place. I love your suggestions, but right now I need to get the meat of the guide out of the way before I can focus on the extras.

With ray of frost, I wasn't aware that there was a specific build that could do what you mentioned. I wouldn't mind adding a note to that spell's guide, but I am not sure I would raise the rating by much. While the rating for that one specific build would be good, the rating I listed is for general builds. Outside of that one build you mentioned, you would be better off taking acid splash over ray of frost. Would you mind giving me the specifics of that build so I could make a proper note of it on my guide?

As acid splash is not a ray some bonuses would not work with it.

Rays have the special that they count as weapons and thus bonuses to weapon damage apply to them.

The build is in this thread: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz5l8x?What-bonuses-can-you-stack-on-damage-cantr ips

In short is is
+1 for a alchemical power component
+3 for his two bloodlines (crossblooded orc and brutal)
+1 for a trait (havoc of the society or mindlessly cruel)
+1 point blank shot feat
+1 flagbearer feat

Adding the information as a note now. Thank you for posting so quickly.

By the way, if anyone reading this has similar tips and tricks, I would love to add them as notes to the guide that others could look at.

I am completely lost as to what you are talking about. Arcane Mark lets you leave a rune or symbol on something. Where does the flurry come in?

Arcane Mark is a Range: Touch spell. So if you want to cast it on an unwilling subject, you have to make a touch attack. This happens as part of the spell.

The Magus gets the abilities Spell Combat and Spellstrike which when combined with a Range: Touch spell allow the magus as a full round action to make all their normal attacks at a -2 to hit. In addition they get to cast and deliver the touch spell through their weapon at their full BAB with a -2 to hit.

Because the spell Arcane Mark does no damage they are basically just getting a use of the abilities... which is functionally the same as Flurry of Blows for a monk at this point, but with their weapon instead of unarmed.

Because it is a cantrip there is no max number of times per day they can cast the spell, so they can make use of this ability as many times per day as they would like (2 attacks at lvl 2 but at a -2 is a significant uptick in damage if you would be hitting regularly).

The result is a flurry with a weapon and leaving behind a Zorro-esque mark on the subject with your spell.

Again, not a great spell for other classes, but this is actually a combat advantage for a Magus. So I would rate it much higher for them only.

I would note that many GM's find this distasteful or abusive. My experience is that the increase in damage is not huge and much less game breaking than other spells they might be casting. Still, it is good for a 0 lvl spell.

Sean Mahoney & CalebTGordan wrote:

Verbal Component Discussion

I would agree that in my experience most GMs would not enforce the effects of the verbal component. However, that isn't the same as saying that 1) they shouldn't or 2) every GM is going to run it that way. You really have to default to a RAW standpoint, and perhaps mention that in games that houserule out or ignore the effects of verbal casting that it wouldn't have that drawback. (Out of curiosity, if you were rating metamagic feats would you rate silent as bad because no one enforces the verbal component? I am guessing not.)

I would agree that the verbal component doesn't have to be loud, just confident and strong. Since the DC to hear talking is DC 0 though, and I think confident and strong would fit well into talking, that is the base DC. You then get a +1 to the DC for every 10 ft from the talking... so at first level and max range (on a spell with 100 + 10 ft / lvl spell) the guard would have a DC 11 Perception check to hear the mage casting.

You are absolutely right that 99.9% of the guards would have no clue WHICH spell is being cast, they would just know that a spell had been cast and the general area from which the caster sounded like he was casting.

It doesn't mean there is NO good uses for the spells, just that those uses are more limited because the listener has an idea that the sound is a spell and where the spellcaster is (assuming they make their Perception check). In some creative cases that could work well to your advantage. If they just saw you summon a monster that shred their friend to ribbons and now you cast again and they hear that same monster, they may very well take off even though you cast a ghost sound rather that the summons that time. It's just a limiter on the usefulness of sneaky applications of spells.

Just my thoughts... again, it's a good guide, and I do appreciate the monumental amount of work you are putting into this. I am looking forward to discussing the spells of other levels as well.

I am not trying to start a debate here that is going to derail this discussion, nor am I trying to be confrontational, but I do feel like I am following RAW.

Most people seem to miss the following sentence:
"

d20PFSRD wrote:

Usually you don't need to worry about components, but when you can't use a component for some reason or when a material or focus component is expensive, then the components are important.

According to this, I could interpret (and I do) that RAW is that the spell components are important only when there is a reason they can't be used. There may be other, special, and rare situations, but this doesn't mean that spells like silent image or ghost sound are foiled every time because of their verbal component.

If you want, you can skip over to this discussion and discuss this further. I even welcome you to reply to my own comment there. I love good old fashioned discussion.

Not sure if that is RAI but an overlooked use of Prestidigitation seems to be the retrieval of magical objects (weapons?) of 1 lb. or less :-)

Very nice for small characters (1/2 weight), and even better if the weapon is mithral (1/2 weight).
Your Halfling's mithral Longsword/Scimitar +1 only weights 1 lb. ... and I can't find a reason to not get it back in hand with a little Prestidigitation? :-)

Not sure if that is RAI but an overlooked use of Prestidigitation seems to be the retrieval of magical objects (weapons?) of 1 lb. or less :-)

Very nice for small characters (1/2 weight), and even better if the weapon is mithral (1/2 weight).
Your Halfling's mithral Longsword/Scimitar +1 only weights 1 lb. ... and I can't find a reason to not get it back in hand with a little Prestidigitation? :-)

It does say slowly lift, so I can see what you are talking about. However, looking at mage hand/[i] it doesn't look like the spell works on magical items. If [i]mage hand won't work on magical items, I wouldn't allow prestidigitation to retrieve the mithral +1 scimitar.

I know the guide is generally written for standard campaigns, but I don't think assigning every evil spell a "bad" is very useful. Desecrate, while not the kind of thing a random adventurer will every cast, is a major cornerstone spell for anyone animating the dead.

Devolution isn't even good enough against its absurdly narrow range of targets to ever prepare. It's certainly bad-- for any spontaneous caster.

Evolution Surge, on the other hand, is a must-have for basically any summoner. So good.

I know the guide is generally written for standard campaigns, but I don't think assigning every evil spell a "bad" is very useful. Desecrate, while not the kind of thing a random adventurer will every cast, is a major cornerstone spell for anyone animating the dead.

Devolution isn't even good enough against its absurdly narrow range of targets to ever prepare. It's certainly bad-- for any spontaneous caster.

Evolution Surge, on the other hand, is a must-have for basically any summoner. So good.

Thank you for all of that. I did go and make changes, but I haven't gotten around to finding all of the evil spells to change them. I will try to remember to do that.

I have now completed my initial ratings of the 2nd level spells and will begin finishing up writing the paragraph long guides for each one. The rating will see some changes. Please go through and let me where adjustments should be made.

Detect Chaos, Detect Animals or Plants, Detect Good and Lead Blades aren´t Wizard-spells, but they have an Entry in the Wizard column.
I don´t know, if there are more in the columns of the other classes, but I thought it might be useful for you to know.

The book has about 3 or 4 new spells per race. Some of them are pretty neat, and I think the goblins came out ahead in terms of fun spells. Tossing mud at people's eyes and then running around on fire and creating a flaming trail just sounds awesome.

Align Weapon (and similars) may well be as good as you rate it, but you may want to mention that without an alignment detection or relevant skill check there's no telling what kind of alignment your enemies have.

I saw you were trying to figure out a use for the cantrip spell "sift", and if I understand the spell right, there is one that seems obvious to me. It sounds like you can use the spell to get a second chance if you fail your perception check the first time. Granted the second role is at a -5 penalty, but still, that could be useful.

You have taken on a truly massive task, and one I think is extremely useful. It's rare that you find a guide that actually differentiates spells by potential build. Most people seem to assume that you will (or should) play a certain way.

I would like to second the suggestion for simplifying the color scheme down to 4 or 5 (5 for those Excellent+, or ones you think everyone should have) more for your sanity than anything else. Love what you have so far!

Looks like this is a forgotten project, but I'll point this out anyway: you cannot take other actions in the midst of a full attack (quickened true strike), with the exception of a five-foot step which is specifically mentioned.

One thing about the level 0. Yes, Acid Splash is better than Ray of Frost in every single way. However, Ray of Frost is treated as ray weapon. Therefore you can use Weapon Training feat chains with it. On top of that, you get +1 to your damage if you have draconic bloodline of white or silver dragon. Yes, it's not going to be much. But if you stuck in a world where no magic higher than level one can be use, Ray of Frost instantly become the best lvl 0 spells for damage. Say you are fighter 4/Sorcerer 1 with white dragon bloodline. You get +1 to high, + 3 to your 1d3 ray cold damage. This is something that people tend to over look.

1) Speed of Searching: You get to search a 10-foot cube in a single action as if searching for fine details -- this would usually be at least a check per 5-foot square, so possibly 8 checks total if you are checking the ceiling as thoroughly as the floors. Possibly a huge time savings in a cluttered room if the GM would say a normal Perception Check for Fine Details (your classic taking a room apart to find something specific seen in movies) would take a few minutes. You just saved several minutes by casting this spell, and you only took a -5 penalty to do so.

2) Leave no evidence: Taking a room apart makes it very clear that you were there, pulling everything out of drawers, pulling bookcases out to look behind them, pulling pictures off of walls, and so on. Cast spell. Done. Nothing is disturbed.

3) Possibility for "Indirect" searching. Area spells do not require you to see your target unless otherwise specified, they only require Line of Effect. Sift does specify that you need to be able to see the "area" but... if you're able to find "Hidden Treasure" that implies it can perceive things that aren't directly in view. So a good case can be made that you just need line of sight to the center of the area to be Sifted. So... why even break into a place to search it when you can Sift through an open window?

Combine all that and... Depending on how your game handles the Verbal and Somatic components, you could potentially case every building for the best targets while you wander down a street (perhaps in an "animated conversation" with a companion?) and not even miss a step.

For a more typical adventure, you can quickly check around corners or up on balconies or ledges with it, if nothing else, before wasting any time trying to climb up or down or get across the chasm or whatever...

Level 0: Unwitting Ally, means your opponent can't take an offensive action, counts as flanking vs their own allies and unlike daze there is no hit dice limit and you can use it as often as needed. Yes it only lasts 1 round but for a cantrip it is certainly better than bad in my opinion.

Great idea. I just wish this was in a spreadsheet format so I could sort through it better.

The other thing that I often look at for spell effectiveness is how long it lasts. As a wild shape druid, having spells that last a long time are much more helpful. I noticed the guide didn't have this listed, which seems like a key component when considering a spell's effectiveness.

So, when I see 1 hour/level, it gets my attention a lot more than 1 round/level. This is one thing that really sucks about low-level characters trying to summon a creature, they just aren't around long enough to do the job.